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Dayna R Robison  11/16/2006 10:22:37 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  Dayna R Robison

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UNCLAS        VIENNA 03297

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 VIENNA 003297 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL/ILCSR AND IO/T 
USAID FOR DCHA/DG (KIMBERLY LUDWIG) 
NSC FOR AMBASSADOR KOZAK 
PARIS ALSO FOR USOECD 
LABOR FOR ILAB (BILL BRUMFIELD, BOB SHEPARD) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON ETRD EAID PHUM PGOV PREL SOCI ILO
SUBJECT: WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE IN VIENNA 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶1.  Delegates from 306 national trade union organizations 
representing 168 million workers in 154 countries met Nov. 
1-3 in Vienna to found the International Trade Union 
Confederation.  "The Confederation exists to unite and 
mobilize the democratic and independent forces of world 
trade unionism in giving effective representation to 
working people, wherever they work and in whatever 
conditions," says its constitution.  Rejecting 
government-dominated labor organizations like those in 
China and Cuba, the Confederation offered associate 
(dues-free) status to struggling independent unions 
including the Unitary Council of Cuban Workers (whose 
imprisoned leader, Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos, was arrested 
in the 2003 crackdown on human rights defenders), the 
Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (whose exiled leader, 
Maung Maung, attended the Vienna meeting), and the 
Cambodian Labor Confederation.  BCDTU/BKDP Belarus, KVPU 
and FPU Ukraine, and ZCTU Zimbabwe were among the unions 
represented at the meeting.  The UK's Guy Ryder, elected 
unanimously to be the Confederation's General Secretary, 
cautioned the delegates that it was easier to pledge unity 
in Vienna than to realize it back home.  "It remains to be 
seen whether or not we will be capable of doing it," he 
said.  "And if we fail we should not look for the fault in 
our stars but in ourselves." 
 
BACKGROUND OF THE NEW CONFEDERATION 
 
¶2.  The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is 
the product of the merger of two international 
organizations, joined by eight national trade union centers 
previously unaffiliated to either of them.  The larger of 
the two, the International Confederation of Free Trade 
Unions (ICFTU), was founded in 1949 to provide a 
democratic, secular alternative to the communist-dominated 
World Federation of Trade Unions, which lingers on although 
it is much diminished.  The smaller of the two was the 
World Confederation of Labor (WCL), originally called the 
International Federation of Christian Trade Unions, founded 
in 1920 and as its name suggests an organization with a 
strong religious orientation. 
 
¶3.  ICFTU and WCL delegates met separately in Vienna Oct. 
31 to dissolve their respective federations in preparation 
for the founding of the ITUC.  The ICFTU delegates voted 
for dissolution by acclamation.  At the WCL meeting, 
however, only 95 percent voted for dissolution; two percent 
voted "no" and three percent abstained.  Those speaking out 
against dissolution were chiefly from WCL affiliates in 
Western Europe, according to an observer who attended the 
meeting.  The eight previously unaffiliated unions joining 
the ITUC as founding members are from Angola (UNTA-CS), 
Argentina (CTA), Madagascar (FISEMA), Colombia (CUT), Nepal 
(GEFONT), France (CGT), Poland (OPZZ), and Nigeria (TUC-N). 
 
THE FOUNDING CONGRESS 
 
¶4.  Leroy Trotman from Barbados, chairman of the Workers' 
Group in the ILO, proclaimed the creation of the ITUC at 
the first sitting of the founding congress on Nov. 1.  Some 
1600 delegates were present, plus numerous observers. 
There was music by the wind players of the Vienna State 
Opera, and then the speeches began.  "The history of 
international trade unionism has been marked more by 
division than unity," said Emilio Gabaglio, former head of 
the European Trade Union Confederation and the first to 
speak, "but it is imperative to create a united and 
pluralistic movement to meet the challenges of a globalized 
economy."  Austrian President Heinz Fischer called unions 
essential institutions in free societies.  "There are no 
free trade unions in a dictatorship," he said.  Austrian 
Trade Union Federation President Rudolf Hundstorfer said 
that, for all the problems facing workers in Europe, 
including high unemployment ("a continuing disgrace") and 
relentless pressure from employers to make concessions, 
voluntary cooperation between workers and employers had 
achieved much in Europe and the Austrian unions would 
support efforts by the ITUC to promote this practice 
globally.  The congress chairwoman, Sharan Burrow of 
Australia, read a message of congratulations from UN 
Secretary General Kofi Annan. 
 
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THE ITUC PROGRAM 
 
¶5.  Among the aims of the ITUC, says the constitution 
adopted unanimously in Vienna, is "to be a countervailing 
force in the global economy, committed to securing a fair 
distribution of wealth and income within and between 
countries, protection of the environment, universal access 
to public goods and services, comprehensive social 
protection, life-long learning and decent work 
opportunities for all."  A program resolution also adopted 
unanimously calls for more effective and democratic 
governance of the global economy, including the 
establishment of a working group on trade and labor 
standards at the WTO with full ILO participation; the 
defense of trade union rights; the eradication of 
employment discrimination and child labor; safer and 
healthier workplaces; and a stronger ILO. 
 
¶6.  Nearly 100 delegates took the floor to comment on the 
program.  Their remarks reflect the sometimes conflicting 
views within the new confederation.  Hans Jensen of LO 
Denmark, saying trade is crucial to development, called on 
the ITUC to develop a strategy to bring the WTO negotiators 
back to the table.  But Jan Sithole of SFTU Swaziland said 
WTO policies are ravaging African countries and Young-Ok 
Jin of KCTU South Korea said bluntly, "We don't want a WTO 
or an FTA."  Gerd-Liv Valle of LO Norway said the ICFTU had 
made progress in getting the World Bank and the IMF to 
recognize the importance of core labor standards.  But Ana 
Knezevic of UATUC Croatia said that, while the Bank and the 
Fund have agreed to talk to trade unionists, "they don't 
accept our recommendations."  Amal El Amri of UMT Morocco 
said the ITUC must be able to propose alternatives to the 
Bank, the Fund, and the WTO. 
 
¶7.  A common theme in many interventions was the growing 
power of multinational corporations, the failure of 
governments to regulate them, and the need for a strong 
international trade union movement to challenge them. 
Bernard Thibault of CGT France said, "We will be judged by 
what we do to change the power dynamics at the global 
level."  John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO said globalization 
must be fundamentally restructured.  Brendan Barber of the 
UK's TUC said unions must learn to move "as fast as global 
capitalism."  John Evans of the OECD's Trade Union Advisory 
Committee said unions must ensure that no multinational can 
boast of being union-free. 
 
¶8.  Anita Normark of the Building Workers' International 
said the growing number of framework agreements negotiated 
in recent years between sector-specific global union 
federations like hers and large multinationals would not 
help workers in the absence of strong national labor laws 
and a tradition of social dialogue between workers and 
employers.  Marcello Malentacchi of the International 
Metalworkers' Federation, calling these agreements a key 
tool to promote labor standards in global supply chains, 
said they are the only alternative to unilateral corporate 
codes of conduct, which he called no more than public 
relations stunts.  Larry Cohen of the Communication Workers 
of America said that if companies refuse to abide by these 
agreements, "We must be ready to fight back." 
 
¶9.  Renana Jhabwala of SEWA India spoke eloquently of her 
organization's efforts to organize workers, mostly women, 
in the informal sector.  She said SEWA has 800,000 members 
who are street vendors, domestics, small farmers and 
artisans who have no rights and are often subject to 
violence.  "We were told they are not workers, as they have 
no employers, and they are also too dispersed to organize," 
she said.  "But our experience shows that they want to 
organize and can be organized."  Informal workers account 
for 60-80 percent of workers in most developing countries, 
she said, and she urged the ITUC to recognize these workers 
and bring them into the fold of the trade union movement. 
 
¶10.  GFBTU Bahrain, PGFTU Palestine, GFJTU Jordan, KTUF 
Kuwait, GFWTUY Yemen, UGTT Tunisia, and three federations 
from Morocco (UMT, UGTM, and CDT) are among the Middle 
Eastern and North African unions who are founding members 
of the new Confederation.  ITUC General Secretary Ryder 
said the Confederation wants to enter into a formal 
cooperation agreement with the International Confederation 
of Arab Trade Unions. 
 
ITUC STRUCTURE 
 
¶11.  "Unitary and pluralist," says the ITUC constitution's 
Declaration of Principles, "the Confederation is open to 
affiliation by democratic, independent, and representative 
trade union centers, respecting their autonomy and the 
diversity of their sources of inspiration, and their 
organizational forms."  Any changes to the Declaration of 
Principles must be approved by a three-quarters majority of 
congress delegates.  (Amendments to most other sections of 
the constitution require only a two-thirds majority.) 
General Secretary Guy Ryder told the delegates in his 
acceptance speech, "If ever we compromise on these 
principles we will be divided and our house will fall." 
Fred Van Leeuwen, president of Education International, the 
global federation representing teachers' unions, put it 
bluntly: "Organizations that are not independent and 
democratic do not belong in the ITUC." 
 
¶12.  The delegates approved agreements to merge the former 
African and Asian regional organizations of the ICFTU and 
the WCL by Oct. 31, 2007.  In the case of the Americas, 
however, where the divisions between the two predecessor 
confederations run deepest, the delegates adopted instead a 
"statement of commitment" setting forth a series of joint 
activities "in order to achieve union unification in the 
Americas by the set dates."  These dates are not specified 
in the statement, but Ryder told the delegates the one-year 
deadline applies in all three regions.  In Europe, the 
delegates adopted a resolution to establish a Pan European 
Regional Council (PERC) of unions in countries "from the 
Pacific to the Atlantic," also within a year.  Mikhail 
Shmakov of FNPR Russia called the European Trade Union 
Confederation (which will continue to exist as an 
autonomous body) a model for the PERC. 
 
¶13.  The delegates agreed to establish a Council of Global 
Unions, described as a "structured partnership" among the 
ITUC, the sector-specific Global Union Federations, and the 
OECD's Trade Union Advisory Committee.  A member of the 
International Metalworkers' Federation told us the IMF 
would remain outside the Council, but most of the other 
nine Global Union Federations are expected to join.  And 
the delegates elected a 70-member General Council which 
will meet at least once a year and is the supreme authority 
of the ITUC between quadrennial congresses.  Following the 
adjournment of the founding congress, the General Council 
met and elected Australia's Sharan Burrow as ITUC 
President.  The ITUC headquarters are in Brussels, where 
both the ICFTU and the WCL were located. 
 
¶14.  As their final act, the delegates unanimously elected 
Guy Ryder ITUC General Secretary.  Formerly the General 
Secretary of the ICFTU, Ryder in his acceptance speech 
 
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alluded to the difficulties of founding the ITUC.  It 
required political will, he told the delegates, "a 
commodity that can be made available or withheld at your 
discretion."  He asked them "to be absolutely resolute in 
rejecting any type or temptation of organizing in internal 
tendencies or fractions."  He offered an outstretched hand 
to governments, international organizations, and 
employers.  "But to those who oppose us," he concluded, "to 
those whose business is exploitation and repression, whose 
way of work is diktat and the abuse of financial and 
political power and whose attitude is arrogance--and they 
are still many--our message is that the outstretched hand 
can quickly become a clenched fist, and that we will not 
flinch from confrontation when confrontation is the only 
way."  The delegates gave him a standing ovation. 
 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶15.  The delegates to the ITUC founding congress are under 
no illusion that trade union unity will be easy to 
achieve.  But they spoke with conviction about the need to 
unite to confront "globalization."  The term means 
different things to different unions depending on their 
membership, the political environment in which they 
operate, and the employers whom they face across the 
bargaining table.  The delegates all seemed to agree, 
however, that unification is essential if trade unions wish 
to be "a countervailing force in the global economy," a 
force for increasing the labor share of national income, 
promoting respect for international labor standards, 
strengthening democratic institutions, and making a 
contribution to peace through social justice. 
 
¶16.  More information about the ITUC is available at 
www.ituc-csi.org. 
 
¶17.  This cable was drafted by Amembassy Berlin Labor 
Counselor Bob Hagen, who with the help of Amembassy Vienna 
attended the ITUC founding congress as an observer. 
 
TIMKEN JR 
Kilner